Xavier St. Cloud
Xavier St. Cloud was an evil Immortal and an enemy of Duncan MacLeod. He had taken the surname from his own teacher, Henri St. Cloud, whom he had beheaded. Personal History Xavier was born in Morocco in 1160. In 1192, as a Moorish warrior fighting in the Third Crusade, Xavier was killed in battle. Having awakened as an Immortal, he was found by Immortal crusader Henri St. Cloud who taught him everything about his Immortality. Xavier repaid Henri by taking both the name St. Cloud and his mentor's head. Xavier would become a great fighter and powerful Immortal, but also became an assassin, a thief, and murderer. Xavier was a hedonist who would do anything to become rich, including killing to make a profit. According to Xavier, mortals were beneath consideration and so killing them meant nothing to him. In 1653, he traveled across the deserts of the Middle East as an assassin. In Algiers he challenged Hamza el Kahir, an Immortal who he had encountered before. Hamza was having a drink with his friend and fellow Immortal Duncan MacLeod. MacLeod would prove in the future to be Xavier's greatest adversary, but at the time, being only a young Immortal, Xavier didn't take much interest in him, focusing instead on Hamza. Hamza, knowing he wouldn't stand a chance of surviving the battle, instead decided to escape. MacLeod, however, refused to back down from a challenge and decided to face Xavier at the scheduled hour. To Duncan's challenge, Xavier simply responded: "I don't sleep with virgins, and I don't kill children." However, when taunted by MacLeod, Xavier decided to fight him. At the last minute, Hamza came to fight Xavier, sacrificing himself to prevent Duncan from dying. The two fought and Xavier beheaded Hamza. In 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, Xavier was riding by a chateau outside Paris which belonged to the D'Estaing family, when he sensed an Immortal. He discovered newly Immortal, Morgan D'Estaing, who had been fatally stabbed by his adopted father, Philippe D'Estaing. The property's inheritance had been denied to him for being adopted, so he had tried to kill his younger brother, who would inherit all. For that, he paid with his mortal life. Morgan wanted revenge, but Xavier told him to be patient and that he would get his revenge soon. Xavier then took Morgan as his pupil. Three years later, Xavier and Morgan returned to the D'Estaing chateau as it was about to be taken over by the British due to France's defeat. Philippe D'Estaing and his family were shocked to see Morgan alive. Morgan wanted to slit their throats but Xavier came walking in and told Morgan not to. Xavier forced Philippe to tell them where the money and jewelry were, making a promise he wouldn't kill anyone and then suggesting that they have a drink. As they left, Morgan wasn't happy that his family was alive, but Xavier told him that they wouldn't be soon. Morgan realized that Xavier had poisoned the wine. As they left the estate, the British army entered the property, and Xavier and Morgan sensed Duncan MacLeod, who was in the British army. Duncan remembered Xavier from their last encounter but Xavier and Morgan left since they weren't alone. Xavier continued to steal and kill, he returned to France and committed more crimes. In one occasion he hid in Darius's church after a theft and met the Immortal priest. Xavier, in 1917, during World War I, he met Duncan MacLeod once again in France. Xavier used a poisonous gas to kill the regiment of French soldiers to steal the Army payroll. MacLeod, was among those soldiers and became vulnerable to Xavier. Xavier identified himself to the helpless MacLeod, possibly because he did not recognize him, but more likely because his own face was hidden behind a full gas mask. Before Xavier could take his head, however, more soldiers arrived and Xavier escaped in the payroll truck. Using poisonous gases in heists became a habit for Xavier, who used this method in 1977 in West Africa to kill a drug lord and steal all his valuables. In 1993, Xavier returned to Paris. He entered in a jewelry store before they closed, looked around and liked everything. He took out a tube, opened it and gas came out, killing everyone in the store. Xavier also died, but revived a few minutes later. Right after he awoke, Francois Bertrand, a mortal accomplice of his appeared. Xavier ended up tricking him by saying everyone just fell asleep and that it was alright for him to take off his mask. After his partner did that, he smiled and said he had lied and that he was going to die. His accomplice was dead a minute later. Xavier went over to Darius' church and confessed, showing no remorse for what he had done. Later, Duncan came to visit Darius at the church and so did Inspector LeBrun, following a lead on the jewelry murders. Darius couldn't tell LeBrun what Xavier had told him because of the sanctity of the confession. However, Duncan figured out that it was Xavier St. Cloud behind the robbery. He ran into Xavier and chased him. Xavier was able escape by throwing a canister of gas on the floor. Duncan got the can in time and threw it into a cement truck. Xavier later met Duncan and Darius on church grounds and taunted them. Xavier went to MacLeod's barge and met Tessa Noël, using the alias of art collector Gerard Fleurie. He said he wanted to sell a statue (acquired in 1977) for the museum exposition Tessa would be holding that night. He used that so he could plant a bomb in a statue to kill Tessa and her guests. At that night, Duncan was asked by LeBrun to go with the police to the precinct, but on the way, he figured out who the man Tessa met at the barge was and jumped out of the car, running back to the museum. Duncan was able to defuse the bomb in time. At the barge, Xavier was waiting for Duncan and they fought. During the fight, Xavier was about to release some gas to easily take MacLeod's head, but Duncan was able cause Xavier to drop the gas canister by severing his arm at the elbow. Xavier then ran off and escaped by jumping into the Seine. Duncan also jumped in, in pursuit of Xavier and searched for him all night, but Xavier got away. When asked what happened to Xavier, Duncan replied that he got away but wouldn't forget what MacLeod did to him. Xavier returned a year later, working with James Horton to get revenge against Duncan MacLeod. Horton had originally planned to take Xavier's head when he realized he could use Xavier against MacLeod. Now equipped with a prosthetic arm in place of the one he had lost, Xavier began using a one-handed sword in place of the katana he had carried for at least seventy-six years. With the help of mercenaries, Xavier was able to take the heads of two immortals: Anton Legris in Paris, and Jason Talbott in New York. Exactly why Xavier and Horton sought out these Immortals before seeking revenge on MacLeod is unknown, as Legris did not recognize Xavier and the two suspicious deaths were later able to be relayed by Joe Dawson to MacLeod as a warning. Xavier then went to Duncan's dojo in Seacouver, where Duncan and co-owner Charlie DeSalvo were talking. Xavier greeted Duncan and the mercenaries appeared and tried to shoot Duncan and Charlie, nearly hitting them but they managed to get out of the line of fire. Duncan and Charlie later followed Xavier to a warehouse and were shot by James Horton. Xavier was about to take Duncan's head when Charlie distracted him, allowing Duncan time to escape down an elevator shaft. Charlie managed to survive and Duncan followed Xavier and Horton to Paris. Duncan found out where they were going with the help of CID agent Renee Delaney, who was investigating Legris and Talbott's murders. With Renee's and Joe Dawson's help, Horton was supposedly killed, but Xavier escaped. Death Later that night, Duncan arrived at Xavier’s mansion and entered the main room where Xavier poured himself a drink and asked Duncan if he brought the caviar with him. Duncan replied that he left it down stairs. Xavier replies by saying “That’s a shame; I thought we might share it”. He then takes a sip of his wine and grabs his sword from the fireplace and engages with Duncan in a brutal swordfight. As the fight, both men lose their swords and have a brief fist fight. Xavier eventually grabs Duncan’s katana while Duncan grabs Xavier’s broadsword. The two continue the fight outside. In a desperate move, Xavier charges at Duncan who swiftly took his Nemesis head and receives his quickening. Weapons Throughout the series, Xavier used three swords in the series. His first sword was a scimitar followed by a Japanese Military Katana which had been his sword for seventy years. After his hand was chopped off, he used a one handed Charles V sword. He also used his prosthetic arm as a shield in his sword play. Personality For much of his Immortal life, Xavier was a hunter who sought out and beheaded other Immortals. Seeming to prefer a challenge, he claimed to only seek duels with experienced adversaries, and this boast was backed up by his reluctance to fight an inexperienced Duncan MacLeod. His deadly skills and vicious acts were well known to Immortals such as Hamza el Kahir, who considered the prospect of facing Xavier as a death sentence. By the twentieth century, however, his focus seemed to have shifted to enhancing his own comfort and supporting his lavish lifestyle. Curiously, by the time of The Gathering, his encounters with other Immortals seemed to be entirely incidental. Though once considered one of the deadliest Immortals on the planet, Xavier eventually ceased to rely on his swordsmanship. (It could be speculated that his hedonistic lifestyle made him lazy, and thus his abilities declined.) Whether making use of poison gas or hired guns, Xavier halted his earlier practice of challenging other Immortals and instead attempted to incapacitate them before battle had even begun. When faced with the prospect of a fair fight against MacLeod, whom he had once considered beneath the effort, Xavier chose to run. In fact, he was never again known to willingly engage in an even battle against another Immortal. This made him one of a handful of known villains who flagrantly violated the customary fair duels of Immortals. Fighting Style Xavier is unique in regards to his fighting style, as he is the only known Immortal, other than Duncan, to be seen using a plethora of weapons. When he first met Duncan in the Middle East in 1653, he used a scimitar. When he fought Duncan in Paris, in the episode For Tomorrow We Die, he used a katana, and lost his left hand in the duel. After this, possibly due to the loss of his hand, and the effect it would have on his fighting style, Xavier began paying mercenaries to defeat Immortals before taking their heads. During his final confrontation with Duncan, he is using a hook on where his left hand once was and what appears to be a one handed estoc. Miscellaneous Information Xavier is the first Immortal of African origin to make an appearance on the TV series. According to Darius, Xavier spent time in prison till he escaped. Xavier was originally going to only appear in one episode and never to be seen again (with the possibility of him being mentioned to have been killed off by James Horton). But the character proved popular with fans and the writing staff who liked Roland Gift’s portrayal, as a result, he was brought back in season two thus ignoring Duncan’s first meeting with Xavier in 1917. The decision to bring him back without a regenerated hand was on the writers who had a long debate on whether immortals could regenerate lost limbs. He is the only character along with Hugh Fitzcarin to appear in the series after his death in flashbacks throughout the series. St. Cloud, Xavier St. Cloud, Xavier St. Cloud, Xavier Category:Beheaded by Duncan MacLeod